Personal lore/ways to play

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Hello everyone.
Today I decided to create this thread to share some of my kinks when playing Cyberpunk. I started doing these things as I had more playthroughs under my belt to help me get further immersed in the game, to overcome some gameplay mechanics that I think felt short and to make the game harder and eventually started creating in-game lore snippets that exist only in my head.
I'm also curious to hear if you guys are doing similar stuff in your gameplay.

. I always leave Jackie waiting a long time as I do the early character progression to get to establish V as a character. In my last playthrough (as a street kid) I rushed through the prologue and imagined V hadn't met Jackie at all in the start of act 1. He came from Atlanta and got an apartment in Watson and there's no such thing as a lockdown, he just spends a lot of time there to get to know his new district as he once knew Heywood. Eventually he meets Regina and does a lot of gigs for her. When I was pleased with this pre-act 1, V was almost getting kicked out of the apartment for rent overdue and that's when I played the prologue (so that's why he moved in with Jackie before he eventually rents the same room) for real and did the missions almost straight, with some cyberpsychos in-between (it makes a lot more sense that Regina trusts us with these missions after we built a report with her).
. In my builds I usually always end up mixing things up a bit, never go for only one or 2 attributes, although invest differently in different playthroughs and still are able to create separate builds. But because the story always makes reference to V being a netrunner (and because I like net running, especially during combat) I always end up using it. Anyway, this is how net running works for me in-game:
- V can't quickhack an enemy before he phisically hacks into their subnet, so before I do it I have to either takedown an enemy and imagine I plug into him (I do a breach protocol close to the body (on an enemy or machine in sight)) or connect to an access point. As V gets better in this and gets better cyberdecks he can hack machines without this. I also usually only get the ping after a long time because Jackie is waiting and that really makes a difference and is very appreciated when it becomes a tool in my disposal.
. I turn the minimap off until I decide to go to that event in charter hill, close to the Vulture casino where some netrunners are dead on a bunker server room. I imagine V connects to the server and downloads the full map of night city then. Still, V needs to wear goggles to see it and I turn it off in combat situations.
. I hold off on spending attribute and perk points as I see fit, try to control a speedy progression that way.
. I like role-playing a lot in this game, so I use the apartment and eat and drink with common sense, and only in the apartment do I upgrade gear, create gear, also when I buy a quickhack V needs to study for hours to learn how to use them (waiting in-game).
. V can carry one injector health boost and 3 inhaler ones (f*ck I forget the names???)
I'm not so realistic in guns and grenades because it's a game still and It has to be fun, so I can carry 3 knifes, one sword/hatchet/melee; 3 pistols and a big gun (sniper/rifle/shotgun/...).
I carry 3 frag granades and 3 stun gr., 2 of each of the elementary gr. and one of each rare and up quality gr.
At the end of a crime scene I disassemble or take the guns to be sold. V can assemble health stims on the street.
At the beginning of the game, because V has shitty clothes to store weapons, I carry less which makes for cool dinamics in combat of using weapons from the fallen enemies.
. Storywise it always changes because I change the order of doing things and that's something CDPR really did well in my opinion, this puzzle like chunks of story.
. I also recently started attributing some details about the gangs, like I never pick-up stims from the street, I either craft or buy them except from scavengers. Because nasty and dead-on-sight as they are they are very medically clean and sterilized. The same with food, I only eat from Valentino haunts (I imagine more home cooked) and Maelstrom. I decided these machine borgs had only one meat desire and that is excellent quality, low processed food.
. In act 2 V buys different apartments and cars because he's on the run from Arasaka. Periodically I find Arasaka guards and pick a fight with them but in my mind they were the ones coming after V.

These are the main things, there are lots of small details but not so relevant to write. Things like how street kid V starts to realize the extent that corporate media is so full of sh*t, what are the key moments for this and how he goes about learning that nomads aren't how they are portrait,... Same with corpo V and the Nomad V understanding of city folk knowledge.

What about you, do you alter gameplay to make the game harder, imagine these kind of lore extensions,...?
 
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Hello everyone.
Today I decided to create this thread to share some of my kinks when playing Cyberpunk. I started doing these things as I had more playthroughs under my belt to help me get further immersed in the game, to overcome some gameplay mechanics that I think felt short and to make the game harder and eventually started creating in-game lore snippets that exist only in my head.
I'm also curious to hear if you guys are doing similar stuff in your gameplay.

. I always leave Jackie waiting a long time as I do the early character progression to get to establish V as a character. In my last playthrough (as a street kid) I rushed through the prologue and imagined V hadn't met Jackie at all in the start of act 1. He came from Atlanta and got an apartment in Watson and there's no such thing as a lockdown, he just spends a lot of time there to get to know his new district as he once knew Heywood. Eventually he meets Regina and does a lot of gigs for her. When I was pleased with this pre-act 1, V was almost getting kicked out of the apartment for rent overdue and that's when I played the prologue (so that's why he moved in with Jackie before he eventually rents the same room) for real and did the missions almost straight, with some cyberpsychos in-between (it makes a lot more sense that Regina trusts us with these missions after we built a report with her).
. In my builds I usually always end up mixing things up a bit, never go for only one or 2 attributes, although invest differently in different playthroughs and still are able to create separate builds. But because the story always makes reference to V being a netrunner (and because I like net running, especially during combat) I always end up using it. Anyway, this is how net running works for me in-game:
- V can't quickhack an enemy before he phisically hacks into their subnet, so before I do it I have to either takedown an enemy and imagine I plug into him (I do a breach protocol close to the body (on an enemy or machine in sight)) or connect to an access point. As V gets better in this and gets better cyberdecks he can hack machines without this. I also usually only get the ping after a long time because Jackie is waiting and that really makes a difference and is very appreciated when it becomes a tool in my disposal.
. I turn the minimap off until I decide to go to that event in charter hill, close to the Vulture casino where some netrunners are dead on a bunker server room. I imagine V connects to the server and downloads the full map of night city then. Still, V needs to wear goggles to see it and I turn it off in combat situations.
. I hold off on spending attribute and perk points as I see fit, try to control a speedy progression that way.
. I like role-playing a lot in this game, so I use the apartment and eat and drink with common sense, and only in the apartment do I upgrade gear, create gear, also when I buy a quickhack V needs to study for hours to learn how to use them (waiting in-game).
. V can carry one injector health boost and 3 inhaler ones (f*ck I forget the names???)
I'm not so realistic in guns and grenades because it's a game still and It has to be fun, so I can carry 3 knifes, one sword/hatchet/melee; 3 pistols and a big gun (sniper/rifle/shotgun/...).
I carry 3 frag granades and 3 stun gr., 2 of each of the elementary gr. and one of each rare and up quality gr.
At the end of a crime scene I disassemble or take the guns to be sold. V can assemble health stims on the street.
At the beginning of the game, because V has shitty clothes to store weapons, I carry less which makes for cool dinamics in combat of using weapons from the fallen enemies.
. Storywise it always changes because I change the order of doing things and that's something CDPR really did well in my opinion, this puzzle like chunks of story.
. I also recently started attributing some details about the gangs, like I never pick-up stims from the street, I either craft or buy them except from scavengers. Because nasty and dead-on-sight as they are they are very medically clean and sterilized. The same with food, I only eat from Valentino haunts (I imagine more home cooked) and Maelstrom. I decided these machine borgs had only one meat desire and that is excellent quality, low processed food.
. In act 2 V buys different apartments and cars because he's on the run from Arasaka. Periodically I find Arasaka guards and pick a fight with them but in my mind they were the ones coming after V.

These are the main things, there are lots of small details but not so relevant to write. Things like how street kid V starts to realize the extent that corporate media is so full of sh*t, what are the key moments for this and how he goes about learning that nomads aren't how they are portrait,... Same with corpo V and the Nomad V understanding of city folk knowledge.

What about you, do you alter gameplay to make the game harder, imagine these kind of lore extensions,...?
I was just about to ask the same thing. I'm going to start playing the game on PC and I wanted to know how people build their character up to much, before they actually dive into the main story? When I did my first playthrough as a NOMAD, I hadn't built V up, like you see in all these other builds on YouTube. Is there enough side missions and non-essential stuff for V to put, that won't require you to touch the main plot?
 
I was just about to ask the same thing. I'm going to start playing the game on PC and I wanted to know how people build their character up to much, before they actually dive into the main story? When I did my first playthrough as a NOMAD, I hadn't built V up, like you see in all these other builds on YouTube. Is there enough side missions and non-essential stuff for V to put, that won't require you to touch the main plot?
Oh yes there's plenty of side content. I try to fit it into the story in many ways, sometimes altering some of the story as you see above.
But for example when Rogue asks for 15000 k I imagine it's a lot more, the parade is like a month away in my story, aswell as Vik's diagnostics. He gives V half a year tops in my cybertrip.
The side quests specially are some of the greatest content in the game. And NCPD events are great to build up skills.

Edit: I also recommend reading the shards on any mission scene to understand the context of what happened/is happening there.
 
Yeah, I also just headcanon that Vic says V has six months to a year before the overwrite starts to become critical, and then when you collapse after having kidnapped Hanako it becomes obvious that the process has speed up and that gives a lot more urgency to the later part of act 2.

Headcanon for the next time I play as a dude. I'll do the staying in Night city ending and be super fine with Panam leaving since then I can give a call to that amoral PR girl Rachel Kasich, I do have a soft spot for angry vindictive ladies after all.
 
Personally, more than the urgency of getting the chip out of V's head, what always bugged me about how side content fits into the main story in Cyberpunk is the inconsistency in Johnny's relationship with V. You can do one mission where they are super friendly, and then they hate each other in the next one, only to act they don't know each other at all after that. Because of this, on my 2nd playthrough, I took note of how they interact in each gig, side mission and main mission. Now, when I replay the game, I do stuff in an order where the evolution of their relationship feels natural.

For example, the side quest "Human Nature" is available right at the start, and actually hard to avoid because it starts automatically if your get your ride back. However, when the quest starts and Delamain hits V's car, V's first reflex is to call out to Johnny and they have a somewhat friendly and casual discussion about what just happened. That always rubbed me the wrong way since at that point, V shouldn't be used to having Johnny in his head and he certainly hasn't accepted him as an ally yet. For that reason, I always keep this quest for much later in the story.

I will admit this is more difficult since the 1.5 update where they introduced the trust system with fixers, since gigs where Johnny isn't there at all or is cold and unfriendly are now locked behind gigs where they feel like best friends. Still, playing the game this way feels more immersive, and side content is easier to fit into personal headcanon where V actually has a bit more time to get the chip out.

For me, the first stage after Act 1 is denial, and V doesn't believe everything will actually go to shit, so he does NCPD scanner gigs, as well as some other gigs or side quests here and there, to busy himself and build back his rep after the heist. Johnny appears in none of those, showing the pills are working and helping V's denial. After that, there are a couple gigs and cyberpsychos where Johnny is only there in the background, or only says a couple of words. This makes V realize it's real and he needs to do something. That's when I go see Takemura and actually launch the main story. I then only do gigs and quests where Johnny is unfriendly, while slowly progressing the main quests. When I finish the last of the first batch of the main story, and Johnny and V have this big, deep discussion about what each one wants, that's when I start doing the stuff where they get progressively friendlier. At the end of it all, it really feels like V slowly got used to Johnny and even started to trust him. The catalyst is when Johnny revives V in Pacifica, and I only keep the best gigs and quests (like Psychofan) after that point.
 
Personally, more than the urgency of getting the chip out of V's head, what always bugged me about how side content fits into the main story in Cyberpunk is the inconsistency in Johnny's relationship with V. You can do one mission where they are super friendly, and then they hate each other in the next one, only to act they don't know each other at all after that. Because of this, on my 2nd playthrough, I took note of how they interact in each gig, side mission and main mission. Now, when I replay the game, I do stuff in an order where the evolution of their relationship feels natural.

For example, the side quest "Human Nature" is available right at the start, and actually hard to avoid because it starts automatically if your get your ride back. However, when the quest starts and Delamain hits V's car, V's first reflex is to call out to Johnny and they have a somewhat friendly and casual discussion about what just happened. That always rubbed me the wrong way since at that point, V shouldn't be used to having Johnny in his head and he certainly hasn't accepted him as an ally yet. For that reason, I always keep this quest for much later in the story.
All of Jonny's dialogue lines which feel a bit "weird" are probably due to the fact that Keanu really liked Johnny character and asked to CDPR to add more dialogue lines. So all of these lines were more likely added afterward (mostly in GIGs and "minor" side quests).
Meaning that I'm quite sure Johnny wasn't originally intended to appear in V's car at the beginning of Human Nature.
 
Yeah, that would make sense. In a perfect world, I would have loved if there was sort of a relationship meter with Johnny, and dialogue would change based on that meter.

With how much work making a huge open-world RPG like this is though, I know that would be asking a bit too much.
 
I personally love to put a a helmet with a big armor vest and tactical pants and boots and spray and pray, also I like to lounge in an area near Lizzie's bar, it's where an escort gig took place for Regina.
 
I would love to walk to a hostile area and act tough to the guards... unfortunately it doesn't work since the guards don't speak or have a dialogue, they just start shooting (unrealistically) instead of ordering me to go away.

Talking only happens in couple specific places where the devs managed to make a hand-made scene.. Most of the world is unconvincing.
 
I will take this topic the way I want it... for short mind dumps.

My favorite place in the game is in Watson, under the three-storey bridge. And it is my favorite bridge too. Jackie's place is on top of that building. My place is here. There is a nice spot with a lounger and parasol nearby, it is mwah.

Jackie was taken to his place to put his sh** together. I come here to put my plans together. Also when it's like

- F*** it, let's go raid Arasaka Tower.
What for?
- For funsies.
We both know that's not why you are raiding it.
- It's how I need to file it. Making old friends happy. (reference to Sheogorath)
As long as you don't become like `em.
- Right... Hey, about that...
Figures. Go nuts, V. It's your party.
- Thanks, bud!

inGame_01062023_212616HIGH_RES_EMM_None.jpg


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The game felt biggest and newest when I played it for the first time. By now I know where everything is, so NC feels small.

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Vexelstorm was my fave radio station for a long time.
Then I discovered Radio Pebkac. Dark clubbing is my tune.
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All of Jonny's dialogue lines which feel a bit "weird" are probably due to the fact that Keanu really liked Johnny character and asked to CDPR to add more dialogue lines. So all of these lines were more likely added afterward (mostly in GIGs and "minor" side quests).
Meaning that I'm quite sure Johnny wasn't originally intended to appear in V's car at the beginning of Human Nature.
What I found funny when playing with the woman V is that game of flipping the birds with Johnny.
Going past the number 2 isn't where I'd wanna go.
 
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R001c

Forum regular
Early on in this game I tried turning the mini map off. It did not go well. Recently I turned it off again. This time it changed the nature of the game. I never fast travel. I got lost a lot and often went the long way to objectives but found twice as much Night City than I had seen in many hours of previous playthrough's. When car combat arrives I may well break into Delamain's building and resurrect his Excelsior service.
 
My head canon for the game is pretty simple. I've tried to play through as each type of character, but I can't tolerate the idea of either Street Kid or (worse), Corpo rat, so I gave up and just always go Nomad.

So, my character is always an ex black-ops specialist who left for unspecified reasons, and found himself with a Nomad family. He knows that he's capable of killing anyone but regrets having been turned into a killing machine, so he tries to defuse situations whenever he can, and prefers non-lethal techniques when possible.

As for the Johnny chip, that's nonlethal. Other characters can say what they wish, pronounce doom and gloom, whatever. The chip was a prototype, it was altered when damaged, and both V and Johnny have figured out that they're both capable of surviving for an indefinite period of time together in the same body.

That's it. Everything else is flexible, within the parameters allowed by those rules.
 
My head canon for the game is pretty simple. I've tried to play through as each type of character, but I can't tolerate the idea of either Street Kid or (worse), Corpo rat, so I gave up and just always go Nomad.

So, my character is always an ex black-ops specialist who left for unspecified reasons, and found himself with a Nomad family. He knows that he's capable of killing anyone but regrets having been turned into a killing machine, so he tries to defuse situations whenever he can, and prefers non-lethal techniques when possible.

As for the Johnny chip, that's nonlethal. Other characters can say what they wish, pronounce doom and gloom, whatever. The chip was a prototype, it was altered when damaged, and both V and Johnny have figured out that they're both capable of surviving for an indefinite period of time together in the same body.

That's it. Everything else is flexible, within the parameters allowed by those rules.
That's kinda funny, I played as a Nomad the first time, it's a good way to start since you get to discover the city together with V. I have also tried street kid, was ok.

But Corpo is by far the funniest, love being a stone-cold corpo enforcer who slowly starts to care about others.
 
My V's existence is about mourning Jackie. Turning NC upside down, numberless elims, an infinite rage, and a clear target.

My V doesn't want it undone what she won with the Heist. She wants Jackie too. If not him, then his remains. No Arasaka or their employee my crosshair can meet shall live till his remains are produced. That book needs to be closed for my V to move on. In a NC where the game doesn't prevent it, that would have been an instakill of Hanako, and exchange of her still warm head for Jackie's remains. Before V changes her mind. Betcha Arasaka docs can store her on a chip if they can get her soon enough.

Another thing consumes V, the vigilante instinct, her own sense of the right and wrong, and taking the role of judge, jury, and executioner. Taking it out mainly on the poor Scavs. Was it the drive for justice when she went into the hellhole to drag out Evelyn, or was it just that Evelyn was the perfect excuse? It's more the latter than the former. My V and Adam Smasher aren't that different. Except, my V is free of a corporate leash. Ironically, the very Arasaka corp made it so.
 
I and my Overture are inseparable. There is only one way to take my Overture from me. By the lore, it is the best, most destructive Overture in NC. "The hottest iron", as Johnny says.

I remember how things played out with Oda on my stream the very first time I played the game. I was double-jumping around with my Overture and calling "ninjaaaaa... oh, ninjaaaa... Where are youuuuuu? I've got good ol` led for youuu. It's still hot. Come on! Face me!", "Gee, are you already down? Guess I'll have to go for Adam for more." and that taunty stuff I picked up from Q3 bots.

Then, later I realized that looked like East meets West kind of thing. I do firearms, that has been my thing ever since the first fps titles i played.
 
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I will take this topic the way I want it... for short mind dumps.
That's the exact idea I had for such a thread. Mind dumps connected to the players' subtexts while playing.
And there are great ones already, thanks guys. The game really does allow for role-playing in many different ways.

I also like to use the new 1.5 and 1.6 patch changes to play a Morgan Blackhand-like character. The ability to blend in to some situations or disappear when looked after. So change appearance on the mirror for some high profile missions, change apartment in the beginning of act 2 to ditch Arasaka scent, posh up into a male stripper to go up to mikhail's penthouse suite,...
 
This thread inspired me to start a new character. Corpo, but different from anyone before.

Designed her look to be deliberately as boring as possible, no makeup, dirty blonde, serious hairstyle (a bob hair cut). Has a beige blazer, white shirt, office trousers and those high heels you get at the beginning as a corpo.

She is a mouse. She never really wanted to advance within Arasaka, she just had a knack for counter-espionage that made her solve problems far too efficiently for her to get away with being a grunt. So Jenkins spotted her, V didn't really want to be noticed, but what choice did she have?

Then the whole incident happened in the prologue, she didn't want to take Jenkins mission, but had no choice. When she was later kicked out of Arasaka, there was only one person she could turn to, Jackie, her only true friend.

So, she became a merc, not the work she dreamed of, but she had talent for it. Still the same mouse, doesn't want to be seen, doesn't want to stand out.

I'm approaching the tower heist now, after that my V will change. She will be driven by so much hate and pain.

She didn't want to climb the career ladder.
She never dreamed of becoming a legend.
She just wanted to be left alone.
But Arasaka took everything from her, and they just kept taking and taking.

She will one hundred percent stand behind Silverhand, Arasaka must be destroyed.
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I and my Overture are inseparable. There is only one way to take my Overture from me. By the lore, it is the best, most destructive Overture in NC. "The hottest iron", as Johnny says.
First playtrough I used an Overture, now I use the Unity.
Why the Unity?
There is nothing remarkable about it?

Well yes, and that's the point, the Unity is a reliable and common gun, no-one raises an eyebrow over seeing someone having it. But being unremarkable has its perks, as a gun it has no downsides. Good ammo capacity, decent power, good fire rate (compared to other Power handguns). As it says in the game, don't overthink it, the Unity is a good gun.

From a aesthetic perspective I like the look of it, and it's also the gun V constantly uses in cut-scenes.
 
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This thread inspired me to start a new character. Corpo, but different from anyone before.

Designed her look to be deliberately as boring as possible, no makeup, dirty blonde, serious hairstyle (a bob hair cut). Has a beige blazer, white shirt, office trousers and those high heels you get at the beginning as a corpo.

She is a mouse. She never really wanted to advance within Arasaka, she just had a knack for counter-espionage that made her solve problems far too efficiently for her to get away with being a grunt. So Jenkins spotted her, V didn't really want to be noticed, but what choice did she have?

Then the whole incident happened in the prologue, she didn't want to take Jenkins mission, but had no choice. When she was later kicked out of Arasaka, there was only one person she could turn to, Jackie, her only true friend.

So, she became a merc, not the work she dreamed of, but she had talent for it. Still the same mouse, doesn't want to be seen, doesn't want to stand out.

I'm approaching the tower heist now, after that my V will change. She will be driven by so much hate and pain.

She didn't want to climb the career ladder.
She never dreamed of becoming a legend.
She just wanted to be left alone.
But Arasaka took everything from her, and they just kept taking and taking.

She will one hundred percent stand behind Silverhand, Arasaka must be destroyed.
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First playtrough I used an Overture, now I use the Unity.
Why the Unity?
There is nothing remarkable about it?

Well yes, and that's the point, the Unity is a reliable and common gun, no-one raises an eyebrow over seeing someone having it. But being unremarkable has its perks, as a gun it has no downsides. Good ammo capacity, decent power, good fire rate (compared to other Power handguns). As it says in the game, don't overthink it, the Unity is a good gun.

From a aesthetic perspective I like the look of it, and it's also the gun V constantly uses in cut-scenes.
I like the feel of the unity too. Some VS use it more than others. My Nomad went with his cutscene revolver.
Great background story :)
My next one will be a female street kid living the corpo life (her father is like netflix's David's mother, from Santo Domingo, sponsoring his daughter education at Arasaka). That's why she'll fit the Merc work so well. She had been there before, giving netrunning suport She'll be a punk, a bit inspired on the Millennium character Lisbeth Salander, in her psychological traits also.
I might drop some side quests given her antisocial tendencies but haven't thought of that yet.
 
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